Mumbai: For Sheena Chohan, acting begins long before the camera starts rolling. With every new role, the actress steps into a process of research, observation, and preparation, often immersing herself deeply in the world of her character before bringing it to life on screen.
As she gears up for her upcoming pan-India film Jatasya Maranam Dhruvam, where she plays a powerful lady cop, Sheena opens up about the process behind some of her most diverse characters. From portraying Avail Jijabai in Sant Tukaram and the fierce Lilith in Bhaayava to playing a mysterious ghost in Justice and a lonely sound engineer in the upcoming short film Walls, her approach remains rooted in one principle: understanding the character before becoming the character.
Q. When you receive a new character, what is the first thing you do
Regional OTT Releases This Week: 5 Films Across Languages to Add to Your Watchlist
Aug 19, 2026Sheena: “I become obsessed with research. I want to understand who this person is before I decide how to play them. I look at their psychology, physicality, environment, language, relationships and emotional truth. My job is not to arrive on set with a fixed idea of what the character should be. I want to be prepared enough to become a blank page for my director.
Q. Your role as Avali Jijabai in Sant Tukaram required you to step into a very different era. How did you prepare for her?
Sheena: “For Avali, I went into villages and observed and interacted with village women. I studied their mannerisms, rhythms, and physical language. I also read extensively about Avali Jijabai. I wanted her to feel like a woman of her time, not a contemporary actor wearing a costume. The film was released across 300 theatres in India, so it was especially important for me to ground the character in authenticity.
Disha Patani, Khushi Kapoor to Alaya F: Bollywood Actresses & Their Love for Chic Bikinis
Aug 18, 2026Q. After a historical character, you took on the completely contrasting role of Lilith in Bhaayava. What went into creating her?
Sheena: “Lilith , who is a She Devil, required a completely different physical and psychological vocabulary. I studied every available reference to understand her mythology, psychology and universe. With my acting coach at The Acting Center in Los Angeles, I worked intensely on physicality and body language. I wanted to embody her dangerous, primal energy rather than ‘play’ a she-devil.
Q. You have also explored the supernatural Ghost with your role in Justice. How did you approach a character that relied so much on mystery and presence?
Sheena: “The director wanted a ghost who was mysterious, sensual and emotionally layered. He guided me towards Monica Bellucci’s films as a reference, and I studied that physical language. With a character like this, stillness, presence and body language can communicate more than dialogue.
Q. Your upcoming short film Walls seems to take you into yet another emotional world. What was your process this time?
Sheena: “In Walls, I play a lonely artist, a sound engineer whose devotion to her work has begun disconnecting her from life around her. I researched that inner world and combined it with script work and personal emotional observation. But ultimately, I let the director’s vision lead me. That balance between preparation and surrender is very important to me.
Q. After portraying such varied characters, what kind of roles continue to excite you?
Sheena: “I’m drawn to characters that are complex, layered and deeply human—roles that demand transformation rather than glamour. I want to bridge the worlds of commercial and independent cinema, bringing authenticity, emotional depth and relatability to every character, whether in Bollywood or bold, independent storytelling.
Q. What can audiences look forward to from you next?
Sheena: “In Jatasya Maranam Dhruvam, I play a lady cop. It’s another new avatar for me, and I’m excited for audiences to see it. Every character takes me somewhere I haven’t been before, and that is what makes acting so exciting for me.
With Jhatasya Maranam Dhruvam slated for a September–October theatrical release, Sheena continues to explore characters across genres, languages, and vastly different emotional landscapes. Her choices reflect an actor who is willing to step away from the familiar and embrace roles that challenge her creatively. Whether it is a woman from history, a supernatural force, a mysterious ghost, a deeply isolated artist or a determined police officer, Sheena's process remains the same: research first, understand deeply and then surrender to the character.
For the pan Indian actress Sheena Chohan, her powe packed performances and transformation do not begin when the camera rolls. It begins much earlier—with curiosity, preparation, research, imagination, being a blank page for her director, bringing professionalism on the set and the willingness to enter a world that is not her own.
